Find out how popular the last name O'Quinn is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named O'Quinn.

O'Quinn, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the O'Quinn surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of O'Quinn in America

O'Quinn is the 6284th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The O'Quinn surname appeared 5,439 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname O'Quinn.

We can also compare 2010 data for O'Quinn to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name O'Quinn

The surname OQUINN is believed to have originated in Ireland, possibly dating back to the 16th or 17th century. It is thought to be derived from the Irish Gaelic name "O'Cuinn," which means "descendant of Conn" or "grandson of Conn." The name Conn itself is an ancient Irish personal name that is believed to have originated from the Old Irish word "cond," meaning "wisdom" or "reason."

OQUINN is considered an Anglicized version of the original Irish Gaelic surname, with the prefix "O" being a common patronymic marker used in many Irish surnames to denote "descendant of" or "grandson of." The name was likely adapted to its current spelling during the anglicization of Irish names in the 17th and 18th centuries.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the OQUINN surname can be found in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, a collection of legal documents from the 16th century. In these records, there are references to individuals with the surname spelled as "O'Cuinn" and "O'Coyn," which are believed to be early variations of the modern OQUINN spelling.

While there are no definitive historical references to famous individuals with the surname OQUINN in ancient manuscripts or records, a few notable figures from more recent history include:

1. John O'Quinn (1941-2009), an American trial lawyer and philanthropist best known for his successful lawsuits against the tobacco industry.
2. Michael O'Quinn (born 1957), an American actor best known for his role as Walter Hartwell White, Jr. in the television series "Breaking Bad."
3. Mary O'Quinn (1858-1939), an American educator and women's rights activist who founded the O'Quinn School for Girls in San Antonio, Texas.
4. William O'Quinn (1865-1940), an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Mississippi from 1913 to 1923.
5. James O'Quinn (1918-2009), an American World War II veteran and recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Okinawa.

The OQUINN surname has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, particularly in counties such as Galway, Mayo, and Sligo, where the name is believed to have originated and where many families with this surname have resided historically.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name O'Quinn

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname O'Quinn.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for O'Quinn was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of O'Quinn has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name O'Quinn was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of O'Quinn, please contact us.

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